Fairfax staff striking in solidarity with colleagues in protest at plans to cut 120 editorial jobs have said it is time to take a stand.

Key points:

Redundancies and cost-cutting measures to hit SMH, The Age and AFR

Cuts amount to one-quarter of the editorial workforce, according to MEAA

News a "complete shock and a real body blow," says MEAA CEO

The media firm said cuts would be made through redundancies and cost-cutting measures at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Australian Financial Review.

The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) believes the cuts amount to one-quarter of the editorial workforce.

Staff in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane walked out after being told the news, but Fairfax Media said it would continue to publish across print and digital as usual.

Brisbane Times journalist Amy Remeikis said: "We have not taken this action lightly but need to draw a line in the sand."

She said cuts to media weakened the public discourse and meant those in power had "less of a spotlight on them, holding them to account".

"Because I believe in the power of the collective and taking a stand for what I believe in, and a healthy, resourced, diverse press is definitely up there, I stand with my colleagues to say Fairgo Fairfax," she said.

SMH federal politics editor Bevan Shields earlier announced on Twitter the SMH and Parliament House newsrooms had voted to strike until Monday.

Cuts 'necessary to sustain high quality journalism'

Journalists at The Age are striking and staff at Fairfax mastheads in Brisbane and Canberra have walked out for 24 hours.

Photos posted on social media showed staff walking out of their offices and gathering outside after management emailed staff the news.

"The initiatives we have proposed today are part of that adaptation and are necessary to sustain high-quality journalism."

A video taken at the Parliament House bureau offices showed Fairfax employees packing up and leaving the office, after voting to walk out in protest at the cuts.

On Twitter, Sunday Age writer Jill Stark wrote: "Worried for my own future and my colleagues, but this is also just a terrible day for journalism and media diversity in Australia."

An email from Fairfax editorial director Sean Aylmer to staff read: "We will shortly enter a consultation period with staff and the MEAA on a proposal to reduce costs across News and Business in the Sydney and Melbourne newsrooms by the equivalent of 120 full-time employees.

"We believe that we can do this through redundancies, tightening contributor budgets and reducing travel costs and expenses."

Cuts 'absolutely devastating': MEAA

Investigative reporter for The Age Richard Baker told 774 ABC Melbourne the email came as a shock to staff.

"We've tried to have an open and honest relationship with management in the last few years [about the challenges their facing] and this has just come as a real surprise and it's floored a lot of people," he said.

"The saddest thing is seeing ... the younger reporters who've started out and are really idealistic and wanting to be in the game for the right reasons — to see a few of them moved to tears about their own job security and those ones who've maybe just started having families and have got mortgages."

MEAA chief executive officer Paul Murphy described the news, which came a week after the appointment of two new editors, as "a real body blow".

"This is a huge reduction, possibly as much as a quarter of the newsroom staff in Sydney and Melbourne. It's an absolutely devastating announcement," he said.

Mr Murphy said he had not yet sat down with Fairfax management to discuss the details, and the areas where the jobs would be cut had yet to be decided.